Enough is Enough

“Nothing is enough for the man to whom enough is too little.” —Epicurus

Enough is a freeing concept and a liberating reality.

Those who have accumulated enough are left without wanting. They are no longer required to strive for more. Instead, they live free and content.

Most of us are driven by the desire to own enough physical possessions. This is good and true—to provide for ourselves and our family is a worthy pursuit.

Because of this desire, we spend our days pursuing the increased possession of material goods—both financial and material.

And while there is nothing wrong with this pursuit, I wonder if our culture has unintentionally shifted from the pursuit of enough to the pursuit of excess. Consider the fact that most of us already own enough:

Our roof provides shelter for our entire family. Our rooms are furnished with places to sit and lie. Our dressers are filled with clothes. Our closets are supplied with towels and linens. Our pantries and our freezers are stocked with food. Our toy chests house plenty of toys.

We already have enough.

Unfortunately, we live in a world that constantly redefines this notion of enough:

50 years ago, a house of 1,000 square feet was considered enough. Today, the average new home is 2,300 square feet—and still 10% of us rent off-site storage.

30 years ago, 1.5 televisions in every home was considered enough. Today, the average American home contains more televisions than people. And when every room is full, the industry begins to redefine enough in terms of size and picture-quality.

15 years ago, less than half of American adults owned a cell phone. Today, over 90% of adults own a cell phone—and 70% of 12-year olds.

Advertisers work relentlessly to redefine enough. In a consumer-based society, they are required to do so.

The goal of advertising is to stir within us the thinking that we do not yet own enough. Marketers work to change our attitude about their product or service from “that’s extravagant” to “I want that” to “I need that.”

Once they can convince us we need it, our purchase is just a matter of time. If they can make us believe we don’t have enough until we own their product, they know we will continue to pursue ownership of it.

Our definition of enough has been artificially moved by a self-serving entity. And because our new definition of enough remains unachieved, our ability to enjoy its freedom has been lost.

Once again, we are held in bondage to its pursuit. We spend more of our days pursuing the money to fund the increased possession of material goods. All with the goal of finally attaining enough.

But we already have enough. Once we train ourselves to recognize this truth, we are freed from the pursuit of more, we are liberated from the bondage of discontent, and we begin to experience true freedom in our lives.

Best of all, once we realize we already own enough, we are freed to pursue more worthy endeavors than the accumulation of excess.

About Joshua Becker

Writer. Inspiring others to live more by owning less.WSJ Bestselling author of The More of Less.

Comments

My father still has in his possession a handwritten inventory of the contents of his childhood home that his father drew up back in the 1930s/40s. He details literally every knife, fork, ‘frock’ and vase and the list runs to a mere handful of A5 pages. It would take that much paper for me just to list the contents of my kitchen, and I am pretty minimalist by today’s standards. How times have changed, indeed.

I agree, would love to see that list! My grandparents were heavily involved in my upbringing and they come from that generation. They inspire me to this day with their outlook on everything including wordly possessions. Not only in the sense that there is such thing as having enough but also in the way they look after what they have to make it last eliminating the need for acquiring more. Another factor is the fact, that once upon a time, stuff was made to last… So happy I stumbled upon this blog!

That is very cool! On the other hand, when my grandparents passed away 15 years ago and we had to clear their farm of their possessions, every garage and shed was packed with things that they kept “just in case.” They had experienced just enough lack in their lives to never want to go back.

I see many of the same tendencies in my parents to a slightly lesser extent…it is of course not wrong by any means, but I feel fortunate to have come across resources like this and hope that our generation can truly embrace reclaiming contentment in simplicity.

Yes my grandparents were also the same. They lived through the depression, and had to start over once when my mom was a pre teen due to a fire that destroyed their home, and very little was salvaged. They lived in the south and lived off of gardens and bartering as well as my granddaddy’s income from the railroad. Hard living but the sentiment is passed down. I even have some of this in my own psyche…. and I am not as old as others that experience this as my parents had me in their 40s. Funny thing recently though I realized I have been living in “fear of lack” for most of my life. Which is a barrier for in manifestation and peace of mind. A work in progress for sure.

This word is powerful to our household lately that’s why we’re still decluttering our closets and I was surprised how much stuffs we accumulated for them (from gifts to hand-me-down) but we’re so happy we’ll donate them this week to Goodwill.

Use your stove timer and try to do one hour everyday, or whatever you feel you can do. Start with one drawer at a time. I’ve made great progress using the timer. If I’m still on a roll when it buzzes I go for a second hour. It’s a great way to get in 10,000 steps a day also!

I started by placing a laundry basket lined with a green garbage bag in the laundry room. As I walked through the house, I would grab an item I knew I didn’t want anymore. No emotional ties…just stuff. Then I placed it in the bag. Once the bag was full, I took it to my local Goodwill. Once I rid myself of the “stuff”, I felt inspired to look at the next level of my possessions. Then I just keep going. Finally I’m to the point where I’m looking at the items that are useful and/or I love. Hope this helps those looking to get started.

In my opinion there is no wrong answer to that. I know some books would tell you the order of which to declutter, but I started just by walking around my house and grabbing random things that just didn’t feel like they described who I was in that moment…they were things that described me years before..then eventually I got to the point where I started getting rid of things that I was keeping to “describe me” to my guests. I realized I didn’t need those decorative items for the sake of sharing with others who I am..I am a person with a personality and a voice and I can tell people who I am and what I love through that. I now keep things that I love and USE…start wherever you feel you need to start. Start with stuff that’s NOT sentimental though…that stuff was brutal to go through the first round through (first few rounds through if i am being honest..okay if I am being completely honest I am still dealing with some sentimental stuff but I got rid of A LOT in the first few rounds).

Every single time I feel like I have conquered my desire for more, I am tempted by something new that I see owned by someone around me, either in the subway, or on the street. Then, all of those good intentions of having enough go out of the window. I realize then that this idea of having enough is a life-long pursuit. Forever, until the end of time, I will have to keep a rein on my desires, and keep on reminding myself of what is important to me, stuff or experiences. It is like yoga – the end-point will never be reached, the journey is what matters.

That’s so true. I find myself also having to remind myself that I have enough and don’t need something new just because it’s there for the taking.
The whole philosophy of “enough” is so counter-cultural that you need to keep filling your mind with this “alternative” message, otherwise the voice of common culture will drown it out. My husband used to tease me about the size of my email mailbox until I explained to him that my mailbox is so much bigger than his because of the newsletters and blogs (like this one) that I subscribe to in order to fill my mind with the truths that are not proclaimed in our culture and to remind me of what is good and true and noble and of lasting importantance.

Help me! Your message is clear and I love it, but I can’t seem to stop myself from getting excited about buying stuff. I started reading your blog and applying your tips and it was going great, I thought I could do this. Then we moved and I got rid of a LOT of stuff, it was liberating! Loved it! Now, I’m going down again! I stay home and we live in a very small rural town. I get bored and the only thing that excites me it to buy something. Usually toys for my daughter. I know it’s wrong, but I can’t ignore it when I see a deal and I can’t stop thinking about it until I buy it and I get a weird rush. Please help!!

If the *only* thing that excites you is buying things I think it’s time to take a step back and evaluate your life. Find things that make you happy. Instead of buying toys for your daughter, spend time with her. Figure out what you like to do. Reading, spending time with friends, maybe a sport? Something that is more fulfilling and longlasting than spending money.

This is the kind of inspiration I needed this morning. I’m a single parent raising two boys and we get along just fine without all the “extras” on the market. However, I’ve been minimizing like crazy since finding this page. There’s always room to declutter in our lives.

Your post is so on target. It can’t be repeated enough and in as many places as possible. Most of us fall into the trap. We are bombarded day and night everywhere we go whether at home, driving in the car, at work, etc. We get feeds from Amazon, Buy.com, Woot, etc. The shopping channels on TV and cable pound us with endless chatter about nothing to buy stuff that we don’t need, but it’s always the best deal ever. And, we can’t forget product placements in movies and TV shows – subliminal marketing.

I’m as guilty as the next or at least I was. As I began seeking and moving toward my lifestyle change to “living free” I began asking myself, “Can I live without this?” It didn’t matter if it was from on-line marketing or walking through Costco – I ALWAYS ask the same question. When I started it often took me a few minutes, even a few days to make that determination, Today, after several years of “living free” and blogging about it, my determination that I can live without virtually all that “stuff” is instantaneous. But, it was hard getting here. Keep up the good work. It’s vitally important.

Thank you so much for these lovely thoughts. I was recently touched by similar words from one of our church leaders: “Out of necessity, most of us are involved in earning money and acquiring some of the world’s goods to be able to sustain our families. It requires a good part of our time and attention. There is no end to what the world has to offer, so it is critical that we learn to recognize when we have enough. If we are not careful, we will begin to chase after the temporal more than the spiritual. Our pursuit for the spiritual and eternal will then take a backseat, instead of the other way around. Sadly, there appears to be a strong inclination to acquire more and more and to own the latest and the most sophisticated.”

You stated 80% of 12 year olds own a cell phone. While I think this is CRAZY, unless I misread the report (which is always possible), I think the report says 78% of all teens (12-17) own a cell phone, but only 68% of 12-13 year olds. Did I read that right, or did I miss something?

Josh, I couldn’t agree more. Even though I know you’re right, this is a struggle to live out. I like that this desire does create a tension that at least slows down the desire to have more. Thanks for your writings. They’re very helpful.

Well written! Advertisements on TV and on daily newspapers keep us anxious and yearning to own something new almost everyday. Especially our life is flooded with more than enough technical gadgets. And we keep looking for a new model or a better version of all these tech gadgets. Life in 21st century is pathetic!

I am so grateful that I stumbled across your FB page. I never have really been one to shop or buy a lot of excess but I have always had a hard time parting with things that I have accumulated over the years. It was really good for me to read about keeping things purely for emotional reasons is not good. I now understand that keeping something someone has given me is senseless if it’s cluttering my life. I’m finally parting with my daughters baby clothes and toys (which I kept mostly for emotional reasons) and she’s almost 11! It feels so good to have less clutter and clean closets. Thank you so much for your articles.

I have three boys and I have kept for them each a freezer bag size ziplock bag. Each bag contains their hospital blanket going home outfit and another trinket or two from their first year. This way it’s just enough memories to pass down to them.

Kim, that’s encouraging. We have one 11 year old, and I keep way too much of his stuff for sentimental reasons. I’m nudged now to pare it down and let a bunch of it go. The emotional attachment is strong.

I am just beginning my journey to realize I have enough. I have been going thru my house and have realized how much STUFF I really have. Most of which I don’t need. So I have been getting rid of it…giving to family friends and goodwill. My family and friends think I’m nuts…but I feel so much better and my house is so much easier to clean :) . This is a journey I am happy to continue for the rest of my life.

This is very timely for me. I’m still in the early stages of minimizing. Today I put together two sacks of clothes for the charity shop, and when I had finished there still wasn’t any more space in my wardrobe or dresser drawers. How much more than enough have I collected, without even setting out to own that much, that giving away all this doesn’t show? And I’ll bet that in a few months I can do the same again and hardly notice. We don’t know how privileged we are, do we?

If you remember our conversation on the train to PDX last week, Joshua, you’ll know why this post of yours, in particular, caught my attention. :o)

In this age of near-constant bombardment by the mass media, we should all remember **this** part of what you wrote especially:

“The goal of advertising is to stir within us the thinking that we do not yet own enough.”

Not because buying or owning things in itself is bad (as you observed), but because it’s so easy to just go unconscious. It takes deliberate effort–essentially, “living the examined life”–to decide what WE want for ourselves. And that’s what minimalism (or dare I say enoughism) is all about.

Josh: I just recently moved from one state to another after living alone for about 7 yrs. I had accumulated a few “things” but not too much since I had lived in a large 5th wheel before that. When I moved, I sold almost everything that did not fit into my small SUV; the few extras are in storage. No furniture of any sort was kept. Only an awful lot of craft supplies that I hated to part with. It was not as hard as I thought it would be to sell everything or give it away.

I moved in with a dear friend who has a relative’s home that is completely furnished. We rent. She sold all also.

Now I just mentioned to my daughter that I felt like I was visiting instead of actually living here because there is nothing of mine here that reflects my tastes. Oh my gosh! After reading through your blog today I realized what a foolish thing that was to say!

I will not be defined by “stuff”!
I will be known by my self; not what I own, what I drive or what I wear, etc.

I now how the perfect op to do whatever I want and still have a place to come back to (or not). I am retired and my checks will go where ever I want them to. So, I guess I will be off to enjoy birdwatching and meeting new folks and camping and whatever else.

Thanks for you insights!
Sometimes a good kick in the pants wakes us up!

I grew up in family of 4 (1100 sq foot house (with 1 bathroom) in the 80’s and 90’s. Our family had a 13″ TV until about 1990. I remember gathering around the TV to watch shows in the evenings.. funny how you remember those times…and they were good times.

It’s funny how the times I loved and remember the most about my life as child growing up were the ones when I traveled and lived with less. MY favorite memories include backpacking for days on end …so we could climb a mountain together, living in 5th wheel while we built our house, living with my boyfriend in the beginning I had one dresser drawer for my things and I loved it!!! I often reflect on these times and use it as a motivation to get back to that happy place. I know how it feels and I want to get there again! Thank you for all your words to encourage us all to be mindful, being mindful helps a lot of other parts of our lives too!

Josh, I loved this! I’ve been thinking about the question “what is enough?” quite a bit recently…I want to write about it on my blog soon but I’m still collecting my thoughts. Your title is spot on though…enough is enough! I liked your thoughts on the TV…once they’d filled every room they made them bigger/”better”. Perceived obsolescence – yuck. I wonder what will happen with mobile phones now people are almost at saturation point?

I went to a Native American faire last weekend with a dear friend who HAS to buy no matter where she goes. She bought earrings, a necklace, a t-shirt, 2 bundles of sage and a few other things. Sure I saw things I wanted…but I left them there. She is always shocked I never purchase. But why would I? I have enough. I even told her, “How much crap do I need?!” I am so over accumulating. Just because you like something doesn’t mean you have to buy it! Thanks Joshua for being here. :)

This post reminds me of the excellent book titled “Enough” by Will Davis Jr. We recently moved from a 2,000 square foot, 3 car garage home to an 845 sqare foot, 1 car garage home. We got rid of about half of what we owned, the rest we packed into the garage, shed and roof. We’ve started with the bare essentials in our new space, and the longer I’m there, the more I find I don’t want all that I have stored to make it into the house. Even to store it seems like hoarding when it could fill a need for someone else, so we continue to pass on what we aren’t finding functional. I so appreciate the encouragement from this blog!

The article and follow up comments all hit home. Enough indeed. We have been slowly getting rid of stuff over the years, but it’s so tough to part with the ‘this may be needed someday’ objects. But I’m trying…

What is it that you love? BrownVagabonder posted that her battle with material desire (non-quote) is a lifetime endeavor. Except for the truly content I doubt that any of us living amongst the billboards will truly be free of material desire once and for all. But in my own experience pursuing an acceptable level of minimalism has been possible only after realigning personal priorities based on what it is that I love. When one loves the world and all that’s in it, his or her immediate and distant family and generally extracts pleasure from an appreciation of what lies under the blue skies; he or she will realize what it is that is important in life. It is at that time that the battle against depleting our check books in favor of clutter that’s cool today and forgotten tomorrow becomes second nature. Learn to love the real and you’ll find that rejecting that which doesn’t promote your love for what’s real is no battle at all.

I agree with so much of what you said, but I also think it misses the point just a bit for those who perhaps don’t have enough. As I work with children who don’t always have a roof over their heads, clothing appropriate for the weather, or food in their pantry, I’ve found that excess isn’t always something in addition to enough, sometimes it is instead of. There are so many people (and not just in Africa) that struggle to have enough but still have the latest pair of Lebrons on their feet.

Your message is clear and true for those with a certain level of financial security. For the rest of us, it’s important to remember that letting go of excess is the only path to enough.

I’ve noticed many people I know in the “baby boomer” age are downsizing and getting rid of stuff. Its kind of interesting that we spent the first part of our lives accumulating and the second half trying to get rid of it. Think of all the money that could have been saved! I am going through bins and bins of stuff that doesn’t fit in my new house now and just giving it to Goodwill and such places. I am doing this also so my kids don’t have to deal with it later. My daughter said it will be tossed out anyway because she doesn’t like clutter and is not sentimental with things, which is good.

It would be interesting to what other things for which we are always striving for more. Respect? Prestige? Recognition? Love? Safety? A successful marketing too is to build an emotional response to a product or service. The manipulative ones will prey on our fears, essentially telling us that we should worry if we *don’t* have something. So what is the reward we are getting when we buy stuff? Buyer’s remorse comes from buying something but not getting that satisfied feeling that we got what we paid for, probably because we realize what we just bought doesn’t make us as safe, respectable, or prestigious as we had been told. Very interesting. Thank you for the articles.

I have adopted a saying from a local nursing home chaplain who regularly thanks the Lord for “The blessing of enough.” Thank you for your blog. It inspires me to press on toward a simpler lifestyle, so that I may redirect precious time on the needs of others.

Whilst I hear what you are saying Joshua and know that deciding that we have enough and to no longer accumulate material possessions is good for us, I still find a compulsion to shop and accumulate. This also concerns the accumulation of “stuff” that I don’t even need! I think I feel that if I have the disposable income there that I should “dispose” of it. I am struggling to get out of this mind frame at the moment and often find myself lingering in charity shops and clothes stores during lunch hour and weekends just to see if I can find any bargains. If I do, I buy, regardless of whether I need the item or not. I also buy items that I think family/friends may like and gift them with the stuff. I think I comfort myself with knowing that the money I’m spending to purchase this item is going to charity or it was fairly cheap so will not affect my finances badly. I really would love to break the habit but I always feel this compulsive urge to shop and feel so good after I make a purchase! Maybe it’s the power of having the money to be able to buy things, but I just feel so empty when I deprive myself of going to the shops and spending. I have gone through phases where I’ve stopped myself from shopping for months which adversely results in me going on a massive spending spree afterwards! I live in London UK, where fashion and trends are very important and feel that I always have to keep up! However, whilst I buy the latest clothes and all of my wardrobes and drawers are completely full, I only really wear what I find comfortable and that is really only a few of the same garments each week! I really want to break this cycle of accumulating things that I don’t need and of constantly having an urge to go shopping! Whilst I have improved slightly in terms of how much money I spend, by going to charity stores and cheaper clothes stores now rather than expensive high street and designer stores, I still want to eventually kick the habit for good! Small steps I know…and I hope with each day I will continue to slowly change my habits. Say a prayer for me, please, and continue to share your helpful blogs! Ash

Different country and different culture – but the same urge to accumulate. I live in Sweden in nothern Europe and Im at the beginning of my ‘enough’. I find that following this blog helps ‘infiltrate’ my mind to let go of the excess in my family’s life. I have done the same regarding healthy food and fitness workouts – it has taken 1 year of actively following some renowned blogs (+ lots of my own work of course :) to make those healthy choices without thinking but with happiness and content. My hope and desire is that in 1 years time I will know my ‘enough’ and will make the enough choices without to much struggle. Looking forward to all the coming posts!

Some people will never be able to fill that personal void. Instead of looking for what is really the issue, they believe they can full that void with material items…I don’t care if its something for a quarter at a garage sale…too many items does not buy happiness.

I have reached a point in my life that the more things I rid myself of the lighter & more free I feel. It remains a challenge to resist ads for the newest gadgets but thanks for opening my eyes & enlightening my mind to the truth of ” enough is enough ” .

I live in Sweden, and have a small house so I got rid of stuff to make it simple. I pay to the bank, and buy only food and the things we need.
We have one car and go together so we save money, and better for the enviorment. But people aurond me, Want to have bigger house and bigger cars and boats.
Like your post, feels good to now that some more are happier whit less. Pernilla Lindström

I couldn’t agree more with this blog post. My whole life I have been drawn naturally towards Minimalism and discovered the concept of ‘minimising our desires’ in Bali a couple of years ago; however I only discovered the concept of ‘Minimalism’ itself a few weeks ago! It’s been fantastic to discover there is a whole community of like-minded people out there in the world and I have been enjoying reading blog posts such as these. I currently live in a flatting situation with other tenants and really notice the contrasts in our attitudes towards ‘enough’ and consumerism in general. It really shows how far I’ve come in terms of my thinking and minimising my life to make it simpler (less possessions, slowing down by putting a stop to working overtime, being mindful of rushing everyone, saying ‘no’ to things I don’t want to do etc). On the other hand my flatmates are are constantly online shopping, buying new things, upgrading, looking for the newest gadget, going to the mall just to fill in time etc and their bedrooms and closets are heaving, whereas I already feel I have more than enough with my own limited possessions and with that my thinking is changing and I no longer feel an urge to shop. I have even been encouraging my friends to donate un-needed items to charity with me. I will be debt free tomorrow and looking forward to seeing how much I can save with my new thinking/motivations. Experiences (not possessions) here I come! :)

Personally, to get enough and be satisfied with your enough, is an impossibility unless you can rid association with those who are keeping score and make obvious what they have, while leaving a strong vibe to what YOU do not. Peer pressure and “he who dies with the most toys wins” are always around to shove it in your face. Their mission is to make you feel poor or inferior. Jettison those folks cold turkey or they will steal your happiness no matter what you have..

I took my first step forward in minimalizing my possessions. Like a lot of people l found it hard to figure out where to begin. I looked around my 1000 sq ft house and decided that the best place to begin is my closets. It took 2 days to go through all my clothes snd it was tough in the beginning to let go. But l filled 4 large bags and 1 box with clothes and shoes and I was pleased with the result: a closet with clothes and shoes that I like and will wear. I am now motivated and ready to continue this journey to peace and tranquility.

I spent this past weekend, both Saturday and Sunday cleaning out my two car garage. For the most part it was a fast process, I had a van backed into it, back opened and it was toss, toss, toss, no we won’t “maybe” need that thing that has been living in the garage for 4 years that we haven’t used, that isn’t a seasonal item or whatever, toss it. Three van loads, totally almost 1000 pounds of “stuff” (Something That Under-minds Family Fun) later, my garage now consist of 4 boxes of holiday decorations (instead of 8), a few yard tolls, one small bin of regular tolls, a freezer, a mower, and two items I am waiting for someone to come gather (an EXTRA washing machine and tires). SO MUCH space left!

Even my two teens were on board. My son would grab a bag or box with his name and go, you know – unless there is something in here you want mom, I don’t even need to open this. I haven’t needed/wanted anything from here in the last two years since I packed this, lets put this in the car for donation. Out of 6 giant bags of stuff animals, ONE dolphin was pulled out and saved by my daughter, the hundreds of others are going to a new home!

It was such a freeing fun time just getting rid of it all!

Now, next time I say, lets clean the garage my kids will go, “seriously, like what do you want us to do, sweep it?” !